Supreme Court refuses to cancel Malayalam actor Vijay Babu's anticipatory bail in rape case
New Delhi, July 6
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to cancel the anticipatory bail granted by the Kerala High Court to Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu in a rape case.
“We don’t think the grant of bail is unwarranted,” a vacation Bench led by Justice Indira Banerjee said.
However, it modified the anticipatory bail conditions and made it clear that the accused actor may be interrogated beyond July 3.
It asked him not to tamper with evidence or try to influence any witness and not to leave the state without permission of the court.
“The respondent shall not harass the victim,” it said.
As senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Babu, said the victim was still trying to establish contact with the accused and it would play out some day or the other, the victim’s counsel took exception to it.
“Don’t make such unfounded statements. Don’t make the victim a laughing stock,” the victim’s counsel R Basant said.
The top court also directed the accused actor not to post anything on social media about the victim.
Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta urged the court to cancel Babu’s anticipatory bail on the grounds that his conduct of leaving the country after registration of FIR and attempting to malign the victim was good enough for denying the relief to him.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday had agreed to take up on Wednesday the Kerala government’s petition challenging the state high court order granting anticipatory bail to actor Vijay Babu in a sexual assault case against him.
The Kerala High Court had ordered Babu to appear for questioning between June 27 and July 3, which was already over, Gupta said.
The accused had initially run away to Dubai and then to Georgia and returned to India only after his passport was seized, Gupta said.
The rape survivor’s counsel said the accused had appeared in a Facebook live and disclosed his client’s name to the whole world, and each day he was out he was a threat to her.
The Kerala High Court had granted anticipatory bail to Babu, and the rape survivor moved the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of the bail.
